Tag: politics

Meme Politics

Unlike TV, Print, and most forms of online communication, memes are built for consumption on smartphones and visual modes of social networking. They are also built for speedy consumption, providing a quick emotional hit in comparison to a long winded article with an uncertain payoff. No other form of political communications compares.

Turkey coup postmortem

impressive analysis. if we’re lucky, historians of the future will have a much much higher quality view of what actually happened.

A group of plotters of the failed Turkish coup attempt used a WhatsApp group to communicate with each other. Bellingcat has transcribed, translated, and analysed the conversation, thereby cross-referencing the messages with photos, videos, and news reports of the evening, night, and morning of July 15-16.

Women crisis promotions

In contexts as wide-ranging as the funeral business, music festivals, political elections, the military, and law firms, studies have found a tendency for women to be promoted in times of crisis. Women are given jobs that have a higher risk of failure — like, for example, cleaning up a dumpster fire. It’s called the “glass cliff,” an invisible hazard that harms women’s likelihood of success. “The only time to run a woman is when things look so bad that your only chance is to do something dramatic”.

The Cult Running Japan

the bad news is that these clowns won the election

Nippon Kaigi used neto-uyo (cyber right wingers who troll anyone on the internet they feel writes negatively of Japan), intellectuals, politicians, and closet sympathizers in mainstream media to exert considerable influence on policy and public opinion. That included getting the Japanese government to reinstitute the Imperial Calendar, which was banished by the US occupation government. Sugano also credits Nippon Kaigi with politically resurrecting Prime Minister Abe, whose political career was considered dead after his abrupt resignation as prime minister in 2007.

The long con

The strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers points up evidence of another successful long march, of tactics designed to corral fleeceable multitudes all in one place—and the formation of a cast of mind that makes it hard for either them or us to discern where the ideological con ended and the money con began.” There’s another factor at work here: The anti-intellectualism that has been a mainstay of the conservative movement for decades also makes its members easy marks. After all, if you are taught to believe that the reigning scientific consensuses on evolution and climate change are lies, then you will lack the elementary logical skills that will set your alarm bells ringing when you hear a flim-flam artist like Trump.

Auctioning Christie

he should be able to get at least $500 for christie.

In what some are calling a sign of its desperation to raise cash, the Presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump is auctioning off New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the popular e-commerce site eBay, campaign officials have confirmed. Christie, who is described on the site as being in lightly used but good condition, is believed to be the first sitting governor ever to be auctioned on the Internet.

New clown car side shows

i like that characters in this summer comedy get to develop little spinoff dramas as they leave the main plotline:

I believe in the power of prayer. Be full of faith and so full of joy that this team was chosen to fight a long battle. It took 25 years to defeat slavery. That is a lot longer than 4 years.

Can You Not PAC

We really want white dudes in urban districts to think hard about why they think they’re the most qualified option to represent their communities. We’re psyched that there are so many groups aimed at recruiting and supporting women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks running for office, and we think it would also be great if instead of spending $100Ks on democratic primaries, upwardly mobile straight white dudes would just take a step back.